The Lust For Power: How Politics And Personal Relations Become One

Without devotion to God, violence and death would flourish in Israel. These factors would impede God’s blessings of security and life; thus, the Mosaic covenant demonstrates the continual faithfulness of God in the Old Testament. Finally, God is faithful to Israel during the people’s complaints in the desert. Rather than abandoning the nation for its faithlessness, God provides them will nourishment and protection during their journey. These acts further reinforce the faithfulness of God, even when his followers stray. In all, the Pentateuch demonstrates the theme of God’s faithfulness.

Because of a new arrangement that was established between Abram and God, the nation of Israel begins to grow and to move forward in their relationship.

Reflect on several ways in which the contemporary nation state of Israel may be viewed by various Christian communities.

Just like any other civilization, the Israelites had multiple social classes. At the foundation of the civilization was the working class. This was made up of the farmers and artisans who labored all day and produced the items that were often traded throughout the kingdom. The next tier was the military and royal court. Anyone that served in the military was well respected by people of all classes. The royal court consisted of any government officials, scribes, and the king’s royal cupbearer. Scribes were the secretaries and typically involved in judicial and financial affairs. The royal cupbearer was tasked with filling the king’s goblet with wine and serving it to him. Second to the top of the social classes were the priests. Similar to Ancient Egypt with the gods, priests were believed to have direct contact with the god the Israelites worshiped: Yahweh. Because of this connection, priests were considered to be very sacred to the Israelites. At the top of the social pyramid was the king. The king of the Israelites ruled over the kingdom, defended it, but also “rules on behalf of Yahweh, the Israelite god” .

The six documents provided in the appendix can be grouped together in many different ways. Although all of the documents imply ways their respective empires exerted political power, there were some distinctions between them. Additionally, all of the documents incorporate their respective cultures’ beliefs into their governments and methods for exerting political power. Document 1, for example, shows that the Persians incorporated their value of bravery into their method of exerting political power, military conquests. The Greeks and Romans in Documents 2 and 6 incorporated their value of freedom into their methods of exerting political power. The Greeks incorporated freedom by boating about their free democracy while the Romans included the

Moses: The Holy Land is important to the my people because it was the land promised to us by God. The Holy Land is also where our great temple had once stood

In thinking about living in the first century Palestine as a Jew, I choose to focus on factors that influence political and religious loyalties: There is only one God.

I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to

as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee (Josh.

To ensure Joshua’s success, he is told to mediate on the word of God day and night. This constant mediation would allow Joshua to better keep the law and be successful and prosperous in

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

Old Testament, a believer could only draw so close to God, then he or she had to be represented by a priest or the High Priest the rest of the way. God knew that his chosen people were superstitious, barbaric, and easily influenced by their idol worshiping neighbors, so he gave them the Law, judges, prophets, and kings to prepare them for a Savior” (Zavada 4).

The nation of Israel was set apart as holy to the LORD. But they When the children of Israel demanded a king, they did so to be like the other nations. The first three kings were Saul, (outwardly tall, handsome and strong—a seemingly good choice for a king, but inwardly arrogant, proud and unrepentant—not God’s choice), David (a man after God’s own heart who repented of his sins and as such was God’s choice), and Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived, but because of covenant disobedience became the catalyst for the division and ultimate exile of Israel.

Religion is a vital part of daily life in every Middle Eastern country, informing the ways in which most ordinary citizens understand politics as well as their own place in the world. Today, the political left in Israel views the Israel state more as a protector of the Jewish community than as a strictly religious state. On the right, Zionism is broadly viewed as an effort to realize God’s intention that the Jewish people establish a Kingdom of God in that specific land. Today, Judaism

Theories are used in many fields of science, but in no field are they more prevalent than Political Science. These theories are often used and researched upon to try and attempt to discern how states interact with one another. Offensive Realism, a new branch of realist political theory, is brought forth in John Mearsheimer’s book, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. This theory focuses on the key aspects of realism, while adding a twist as to why war is an option. In his book, Mearsheimer explains the history of great powers, and predicts that China, the world’s current rising great power, will not gain hegemony in Asia peacefully. With the rise of China, he asserts the US will form coalitions with multiple states throughout Asia, to contain their growing power. This rise in power, and subsequent reactions by the US, are based on his theory Offensive Realism, which is used to predict China’s future actions. The rise of powers, and the reactions of other powers, is historically analyzed, beginning in the late 18th century, all the way to modern times. These analyzes each attempt to support his overall claim that China will rise through non-peaceful means, and shows significant support with historical examples. While the theory often meets an exception when the usual non-European power, Japan, is mentioned, Mearsheimer’s theory introduces a solid new aspect to the realm of Political Science, and presents enough evidence and information to be considered integral to